A historic day that will determine the future of Venezuela after more than two decades of Chavista rule: for the first time, the opposition has managed to showcase its victory in the elections , by publishing the voting results and refuting the official outcome presented by the National Electoral Council, which is under the control of Nicolas Maduro.
This has led to the international community largely recognizing opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the elected president. Following this, a wave of repression, violence, and arbitrary arrests began, which may culminate this Friday if a diplomat comes to power.
Edmundo Gonzalez may be arrested
The Miraflores Palace is unwilling to transition to democracy. They have never acknowledged defeat and, refusing to cooperate, have issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez. The opposition leader plans to return from exile in Spain this Friday after a trip through America, during which he met with several supporting leaders, from Argentina's Javier Milei to Joe Biden.
These days are also marked by escalating internal tensions in Venezuela caused by the arrest of Gonzalez's right-hand woman, Maria Corina Machado. She was attacked by Chavistas during the campaign after several attempts to silence her. And not just her. According to Foro Penal, there are 1,794 political prisoners in the country.
How Maria Corina Machado was arrested?
Vente Venezuela leader Jose Rolon detailed the arrest in an interview with the international news channel "NTN24".
"Maria Corina was intercepted by 17 motorcycles, armored vehicles, and drones; they shot at her, and when she fell to the ground, she was abducted," he said.
Nicolas Maduro controls all power institutions in Venezuela and relies on the support of the armed forces. He has armed the country to regain his position. Meanwhile, Edmundo Gonzalez has devised a strategy from abroad that remains unknown for now.
The epicenter of the global struggle for freedom and democracy is in VenezuelaEdmundo Gonzalez Urrutia leader of the Venezuelan opposition
"I still intend to return to Venezuela and take the office for which I was elected," Gonzalez stated in a recent interview with RTVE.
This is an unusual scenario: two individuals claim the presidency of the country, one of whom is legitimate, while the other is not.
As planned, Edmundo Gonzalez will arrive in Caracas accompanied by several former Ibero-American presidents. They also face the threat of arrest by Chavistas. The question is what will happen when they arrive in the country. There are precedents indicating possible obstruction during landing by air traffic control, which occurred during the electoral process when a flight with former Latin American presidents arriving to observe the process was unable to land.
The position of Ibero-American countries
On this occasion, Gonzalez will be accompanied by members of the Mexican PAN party Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon. The truth is that Maduro is no longer supported even by current leftist leaders in Latin America. The President of Chile stated that there is no freedom in Venezuela.
"I am a leftist, and from the left, I say that Nicolas Maduro's government is a dictatorship," said Gabriel Boric.
Ecuador supports the opposition, and President Daniel Noboa accused Maduro of sowing "death and misfortune" in the country. Gustavo Petro, the pro-Chavista president of Colombia, refused to attend Nicolas Maduro's inauguration personally and will send his ambassador instead.
Nicolas Maduro loses allies
It is also noteworthy that there will be no representatives from Mexico and Brazil, who have more weakly condemned the absence of democracy in Venezuela, and they will not attend Maduro's theatrical inauguration either.
In this context, Maduro's only allies remain Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called for respect for the sovereign decision of Venezuelans at the polls. Joe Biden took a similar stance.
Demonstrations worldwide
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan diaspora is mobilizing and taking to the streets in major cities around the world: demonstrations in support of democracy in Venezuela have taken place in Paris, Miami, New York, and Madrid.
In the Spanish capital, a large rally was held on Thursday in Puerta del Sol, attended by several political leaders, and new protests may occur this Friday.
"For freedom and against tyranny," declared the leader of the National People's Party Alberto Nunez Feijoo, alongside the president of the Madrid community and party member Isabel Diaz Ayuso.
"Now we just need the armed forces to take this step forward," she said.
For his part, VOX leader Santiago Abascal, who also attended the march, labeled Maduro a "usurper" and stated that he "must fall." All of them criticized the Spanish government for its lack of a clear position.
Just minutes after these demonstrations worldwide, the most important one took place in Caracas. It ended with the arrest of Maria Corina Machado, which shocked the country and the international community until her release was confirmed. Now everyone hopes that Edmundo Gonzalez will not meet the same fate.